Boart Longyear drops its CEO

Upset with its flagging stock price, the board of Boart Longyear (ASX:BLY) announced that its CEO, Craig Kipp, was resigning on Thursday effective immediately.

The board's chairman, David McLemore, will become the company's interim CEO while the company looks for a successor.

Kipp is not out due to any operational performance issues, said a company spokeswoman, but rather the company's flagging stock price, which lost a third of its value in the last year and is trading at $1.67. It's 52-week range is $1.09 to $4.41.

She said the company is looking for a new CEO that can better engage with the market.

"Craig has done great things for the company, he set us up to be one of the industry’s best and unfortunately that just didn’t move the stock price," the spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The company's stock tumbled in August when it issued a earnings warning due to a slowdown in the exploration market.

"The Board would like to thank Mr Kipp for his leadership and accomplishments," said McLemore in a statement.

"During his tenure with Boart Longyear, Craig has led the Company’s transformation into the global industry leader and standard setter it is today. Among his accomplishments, Craig has cultivated a deep, talented and experienced management team that is well positioned to lead the Company’s future success."